Polly's Bedtime Story
by SaitouMiharu
Summary: Maya and Pearl are visiting Phoenix, and ask Apollo to tell them a bedtime story. With Trucy backing them up, it's up to Apollo to think of something.


Polly's Bedtime Story

An Ace Attorney Fanfic

By Saitou Miharu

Three eager faces were turned towards Apollo, each with a similar expression and bright, pleading eyes. The oldest, a girl with long, silky black hair, cried aloud, "Polly, please tell us a bedtime story!" The other two nodded in agreement, while Apollo groaned.

"My name is Apollo." he told her curtly. "Did Trucy somehow convince you otherwise?"

"Aw, come on, Apollo." Came a voice from the corner. Phoenix stood, exhausted, on the opposite side of the room, his eyes red and weary. "Maya won't leave you alone until you give her _some_ kind of exciting story. Pearls and Trucy want one, too. Once they're asleep we can discuss the case—then I'm going to bed, and no one will wake me up until _at least_ ten."

Apollo groaned again, knowing this conflict wouldn't just resolve itself. He should just go ahead and tell the stupid story, before Mr. Wright fell asleep where he was standing. "Okay," he finally conceded, looking at all three girls' excited expressions, "I'll tell you a story. But after that, you all have to go to sleep."

Cheering erupted from the young girls. Pearls asked, "What's it about, Polly?"

Apollo mentally gave up on trying to get them to memorize his actual name. Mr. Wright would call him that, too, at this rate. "What do you want it to be about?"

Everyone said something different. "Dragons!" "Enchantresses!" "Flowers!"

Taking all this in, Apollo quickly formed a rather odd outline for this rather odd story. Finally he conjured the most compelling plot he could think of given these circumstances, and began to weave a strange tale for Mr. Wright's best friends, Pearl and Maya Fey, and his daughter, Trucy Wright.

"Once, a long time ago, there was a race of tall, green people called... uh... Nomads. The Nomads had petals for hair and leaves for hands, and they couldn't move, because their roots kept them fused to the ground. The Nomads were constantly shaking in fear of the dragons that lived all around their land, which constantly swooped down and snatched them up one by one."

"Wait," Maya interrupted, her hand in the air, "Am I in this story?"

"Yeah, soon. Anyway, there was a young Nomad living in the mountains named Pearl. Pearl was one of the smallest and youngest of her people, but she was the smartest. Her boyfriend was an idiot prosecutor named Payne, who shoved her off the edge of the mountaintop." Apollo paused to let if soak in. Phoenix was busting a gut laughing, while Maya and the others were grinning from ear to ear. "When Pearl tumbled to the bottom, she discovered the other Nomads needed help with their dragon problems.

"So Pearl decided to go to someone for help. Disconnected from the ground, she dragged herself to the Castle of the Hobo, where Prince Wright was waiting. He ordered his daughter, Enchantress Trucy, to take Pearl to the Dragon Cave, where all dragons gather on the tenth of each month." Apollo looked to Phoenix for a response to the Hobo thing, but was surprised to see the man out like a light, sitting in the corner, his eyes closed and his face peaceful.

"Keep going!" Trucy exclaimed. "This is getting good."

Apollo cleared his throat. "Enchantress Trucy took Pearl to the Dragon Cave, where they were immediately captured by the dragons. One of the dragons, named Maya—"

"Score!"

"Er, one of the dragons, named Maya, asked them why they were there. Trucy and Pearl explained that the Nomads were being snatched up left and right, and that the dragons needed to stop eating them. The dragons asked what they should eat instead, and in that moment, another idiot prosecutor entered the scene—Klavier Gabite, a rejected superhero Pokémon with the amazing power of boring people to sleep. He was instantly stomped into a pancake by the surrounding dragons, and it was up to Enchantress Trucy to save herself and Pearl.

"'Free pancakes!' the enchantress cried, and all the dragons began to eat what was left of Klavier Gabite, except for Maya, who found a hidden passion for grilled cow on a bun and ramen cups. Trucy summoned her magic powers to transport Pearl and herself back to the Castle, but somehow her immense strength was being blocked by something.

"Ema Snackoo was a witch with long, flowing hair. Since she was more experienced than Enchantress Trucy, she managed to block her powers by throwing Snackoo's at her. But finally, Apollo the Great swooped down and—"

"Wait! Apollo the Great?" Trucy asked, curious.

"No, you should be Polly, the Horned Beast!" Maya suggested.

Pearl laughed. "I like the sound of that."

"Fine. Apollo, the Great Horned Beast, swooped down and smacked Ema Snackoo out of the way. And then Trucy transported herself, Pearl, and Maya, who wanted more cows to slaughter, to the Castle of the Hobo, where Prince Wright was fast asleep. The end."

Prince Wright stirred in the corner, raising one hand to his face to rub his left eye. Seeing the story had been told, he stood and said, "Come, Apollo, let's look over our notes before I fall asleep again. The Castle of the Hobo must not remain unguarded." His knowing smile won an embarrassed one from Apollo.

"Aw, come on, Polly, one more!" Pearl begged.

"Yeah!" Trucy and Maya added enthusiastically.

Apollo looked desperately to Phoenix, who surprised everyone with a hearty laugh. "Go ahead, Polly—er—Apollo. I don't mind going to bed early; it's late, and I've had a long day." He smiled weakly and sighed. "Restudying law to take the bar exam again isn't all it's cracked up to be. But don't worry, I'll get my badge back if it's the last thing I ever do."

And, despite himself, Apollo Justice grinned, then unraveled another tale, this one about the man who regained his lost honor, Prince Phoenix Wright.


End file.
